Chapter 21: Reincarnation

“Hunter Choi Hanseong, reporting back now.”

With a calm expression, Hanseong took the microphone from Chanseok and bowed to the people in front of him.

He looked well-rested, his dark circles visibly lighter after a few days of proper food and sleep.

The entire room fell into a stunned silence.

Even Hanseong’s colleagues were at a loss for words.

Chanseok and Hanyul, fellow members of the Shinhwa Guild, could only gape in shock.

It was as if they were looking at a dead man come back to life.

“…The investigation of the Gumiho Tower has been successfully completed.”

“In the near future, the gathered data will be organized with the National Hunter Management Committee and released to the public through the media.”

“I sincerely apologize for causing concern due to my personal circumstances.”

After bowing once more, Hanseong walked through the speechless crowd and calmly got into his car.

Even after he left, people remained frozen in disbelief.

Only when the news of Hanseong’s return spread nationwide did the world finally erupt in chaos.

***

[Shocking! Hunter Choi Hanseong Returns Alive!]

[Was the Gumiho’s Promise Real? The Mystery of Choi Hanseong’s Return and the Gumiho Tower]

[The Promise-Keeping Gumiho—How the Public Reacted]

[Friend or Foe? The Gumiho: A Benevolent Spirit or a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing?]

[National Hunter Management Committee Declares Neutral Stance on the ‘Kind Gumiho Tower’]

[Gumiho Tower Receives First-Ever ‘Pending’ Judgment Instead of Danger, Caution, or Safety]

[Experts Shocked by Unexpected ‘Pending’ Verdict from the Committee]

After his meeting with the committee chairman, Hanseong entered the guild’s conference room and immediately checked the flood of articles about the tower.

A small smirk formed on his lips.

“…Master, you’re actually laughing right now?”

“Master—no, Hyung. Are you really okay?”

Hanyul and Chanseok, sitting across from him, exchanged uneasy glances.

It had been far too long since they had last seen Hanseong smile.

The two of them stared at him as if he had lost his mind, worried he had finally snapped.

But Hanseong wasn’t crazy, nor had he been brainwashed.

‘…Everything is going as planned.’

He was simply satisfied that the public outrage directed at Yubin was gradually dying down.

Of course, there were still opposing voices.

[The Gumiho Tower Brainwashes Humans]

[Has Choi Hanseong, the Number One Hunter, Fallen Prey to a Hypnosis Skill?]

[A National Crisis? The Country’s Strongest Hunter Siding with Monsters?]

Although Hanseong had remained neutral in his statements, rumors were beginning to spread that he was defending the Gumiho.

For now, though, more people were happy about his return than suspicious of him.

‘The video of the Gumiho Tower is still under review.’

The committee chairman had watched the footage with a complicated expression—not confused, but certainly deep in thought.

‘…This will be valuable evidence.’

Hanseong could still picture the chairman stroking his chin as he muttered those words.

The result of that deliberation?

A Pending classification for the Gumiho Tower.

Towers were typically categorized not only by rank but also by their nature: Dangerous, Safe, or Cautionary.

Dangerous: Towers like the Hwarang Tower, openly hostile and obsessed with killing humans.

Safe: Towers like the Goblin Tower, which could be controlled and had surrendered to humans for survival.

Cautionary: A temporary classification for towers still under investigation.

Yet, Gumiho Tower was labeled Pending—something entirely new.

Normally, when a tower’s classification was unclear, it was simply designated as Dangerous to avoid risks.

But the chairman had chosen Pending after a thorough review of the video, opting against stoking public fear unnecessarily.

The video was set to be fully analyzed and released to the public within the next 24 hours.

Hanseong couldn’t shake the image from his mind—of the Gumiho smiling innocently as they wandered the tower together.

‘…It was only three days, but.’

He had seen too much.

A being who became dejected when insulted.

A being who was genuinely happy to make friends.

A being who spent all their wealth to buy gifts for those friends and their employees.

‘The Kind Gumiho Tower… The system wasn’t lying this time.’

Tower names were usually cryptic, hiding deeper meanings through complex psychological wordplay.

At first, the name was unreadable.

Hanseong, still smiling faintly, looked up at Hanyul and Chanseok.

“…Tell everyone not to approach the Gumiho Tower.”

“What?”

“It’s fine. I’ve checked everything myself.”

Hanyul and Chanseok exchanged puzzled glances.

‘…Has our master gone mad?’

‘……Oppa, what do we do about the master?’

With nothing but their eyes, they discussed the state of their guild master’s mental health.

***

Several hours had passed since Hanseong left.

And I was now stuck in a serious dilemma.

“…When should I start my stream?”

Hanseong had told me not to stream until he was gone, so it should be fine now, right?

But I had no way of knowing what was happening outside.

Would turning on the stream interfere with something important?

“Ugh, I can’t tell from here…”

Without streaming, I couldn’t earn Tower Coins.

And without Tower Coins, I couldn’t hire new residents, new employees, or even buy decorations for the interior.

With a groan, I flopped onto the floor.

“He should’ve at least given me a hint before leaving… Ughhh~!”

Stretching out lazily, I made up my mind.

“If there’s a problem, the chat will tell me, right?”

If something serious happened, surely the viewers would spam the chat.

It didn’t seem like anything too crazy was going on, so.

Might as well start the stream!

“And I can use the construction mess as sympathy bait, too!”

Since Hanseong had wrecked my house, it was the perfect excuse to farm attention.

[Skill: Internet Broadcast Activated.]

After a brief hesitation, I turned on the stream and greeted the camera with a bright smile.

“Hello, everyone!”

But the moment I spoke, the chat exploded into chaos.

Hello!!!

“…I’m so sorry……”

Wait, they actually saved him???

???

What is happening??

Wasn’t this channel shutting down??

Thank you for saving Hanseong-oppa!

 🙏 🙏 🙏

Where are all the doubters now??

Why would you actually save him?

What do you mean ‘why’?

They kept saying they didn’t want to kill anyone.

LOL the haters are so dead rn.

Um.

“…Hello”

Thank you!

“…?”

“Wait, why aren’t you guys cursing today?”

The chat immediately turned into a flood of crying emojis.

***

Sung Myungho, chairman of the National Hunter Management Committee, watched the Gumiho Tower footage again and again.

“…How is this even possible…?”

It was something he had never seen before.

Towers had only existed for a few decades, but this was an unprecedented case.

A monster that was friendly toward humans.

The footage showed them trading with Merchants, eating breakfast, lining up to move construction materials—acting entirely civilized.

The Gumiho chatting happily with Hanseong, smiling brightly.

“If not for their appearance, they’d be indistinguishable from beastmen…”

He knew he shouldn’t say such things, but he couldn’t help himself.

A creature that communicated, showed no hostility, and actively instructed other monsters to be friendly toward humans.

The final scene of Hanseong being treated as an honored guest was undeniable proof.

Even with a system breach, the Gumiho had chosen to stay inside instead of rampaging outside.

With a deep breath, Myungho made his decision.

“…Releasing this to the public shouldn’t be a problem.”

He opened a drawer and pulled out a stamp he never thought he’d use.

“…Friendly.”

Right next to Danger, he placed the mark of Friendliness.

“I never thought the day would come when I’d use this stamp.”

The classification of Friendly, a judgment no one yet knew about.

It had been created and forgotten long ago, based on the idea that if monsters possessed intelligence, there could also be those who were friendly toward humans.

“…She would have been happy to see this.”

Honoring a hunter who was no longer in this world, Myungho pressed the stamp onto the Gumiho Tower’s report.

It was a historic moment—the first time in history that a tower had been classified as Friendly.

As soon as the verdict was announced to the public, the video Hanseong had recorded spread widely as evidence and the basis for the decision.

And the internet?

It absolutely exploded.